U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman asked President Barack Obama on Monday to form a committee of outside experts to "fully investigate the scandal-plagued Veterans Health Administration."

Coffman, R-Colo., who chairs the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs' investigations subcommittee, was among the first to call for the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki as nationwide scandals emerged over patient wait times.

Employees at the Fort Collins VA clinic falsified schedule data and later didn't follow policy when scheduling appointments for veterans, giving misleading data on how long the wait times were, according to a federal investigator. Investigators have since started looking into the Cheyenne, Wyo., VA Medical Center, which oversees the clinic.

Other VA health care locations have faced accusations of wait times leading to deaths.

"Given my observations through multiple hearings and reviewing the evidence from numerous investigations, it is my firm opinion that the problems within the VHA are so pervasive that they truly represent a crisis to those who have worn the uniform in defense of our nation and are seeking the health care benefits they have earned," Coffman wrote to Obama.

The Obama administration was made aware of misleading wait times before he formally took office, according to the Washington Times. VA officials wrote to the Obama transition team in 2008 that it was beyond a data issue.

"This is not only a data integrity issue in which reports unreliable performance data; it affects quality of care by delaying — and potentially denying — deserving veterans timely care," the officials wrote, according to documents obtained by the Times.